Eric Cantona has blasted David Beckham and those promoting this winter’s Qatar World Cup, judging their support as a “big, big mistake”.
The Frenchman has long been outspoken against Qatar 2022, labelling it “horrible” and “not a real World Cup”, as he believes this year’s tournament is only about money.
Now, as well as stating that he will not be watching it out of principle, the 56-year-old has given his thoughts on former teammate Beckham and co.
Speaking in an interview with The Athletic’s Adam Crafton, Cantona was asked if this is something he would ever do, to which he had a fairly simply answer: “I would not do it at all. I [would] do completely the opposite.”
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Harking back to his previous condemnation earlier this year, the Manchester United legend said that although he and any ex-players are obviously met with the opportunity for paid partnerships like this on a regular basis, he believes the backdrop to this tournament is simply unjustifiable.
Eric Cantona is boycotting the World Cup in Qatar and says he thinks David Beckham and others who promote it have made a big mistake.
Addressing the ambassadors themselves, he said that “it could be they don’t know what has happened there. Or, if they know it, I think they did wrong”.
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Either way, he believes their decision to sign on the campaign is “a big mistake. A big, big mistake.” Becks has undoubtedly been the biggest face promoting Qatar 2022.
Like many, Cantona made his feelings on the Qatar World Cup crystal clear back in January when he reflected on what went into putting this particular tournament on.
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“It’s only about money and the way they treated the people who built the stadiums, it’s horrible. And thousands of people died”, he told the Mail; “I understand football is a business. But I thought it was the only place where everybody could have a chance.”
The Gulf nation has been flagged by the likes of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for numerous abuses, including exploiting migrant workers to build the stadiums needed for Qatar 2022.
In addition to numerous low-paid workers dying on the job, women’s rights and freedom of expression are all infringed upon. Moreover, members of the LGBTQ+ community are also persecuted, with same-sex sexual conduct still illegal as it is across much of the Middle East.
While several countries like Norway and numerous members of the Welsh national team attempted to boycott the Qatar World Cup, it seems opposition wasn’t unified enough and we’re now just 55 days from the first game.
Nevertheless, all eyes will be on this year’s tournament regardless of the football.
Academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving Manchester City on a permanent transfer
Danny Jones
Manchester City youth academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving the club after sealing a move to Fulham FC.
Despite plenty of loan interest throughout the January transfer window, the Man City attacker has secured a switch to the in-form West London team on a permanent basis.
Bobb looked increasingly likely to leave in some capacity following the arrival of another winger in the form of instant hit, Antoine Semenyo, but it now looks as though his departure is all but confirmed, bar an imminent official announcement.
As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the agreement has now been reached between the two clubs pending a full medical today (Thursday, 29 January).
According to Romano, Fulham will pay Man City approximately £27 million for Bobb’s services, who becomes the latest addition in what has already been a fairly busy period of recruitment.
He goes on to add that “City also mantain [a] 20% sell-on clause, matching rights and future control on the player based on his decision.”
There is no suggestion of a buy-back clause at this time, but given his age and having already made a fair few appearances for Pep Guardiola‘s first team, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to see him return to the club one day.
Bobb also arrives at Craven Cottage following the exit of multiple wingers and offensive options, including Adama Traore, ex-Man United product Andreas Pereira and Arsenal youngster, Reiss Nelson, whose loan deal has expired and has signed another temporary deal at local rivals, Brentford.
Had it not been for that injury I know he would’ve been class for City for a long time, and let’s not forget that goal v Newcastle pic.twitter.com/inGxi5UjPM
The young Norwegian winger joined the Etihad Campus back in 2023 and went on to contribute a handful of goals and assists, despite limited appearances and some very unfortunate injury issues.
Only seven months ago, his soon-to-be former parent club released a short video charting his return from the sidelines after fracturing his leg – a setback which kept him out for roughly five months.
Plenty of fans have quickly placed him in the so-called ‘what if?’ category of players, and given that he’s still just 22 years old and has already impressed on a number of ocassions for such a big club, we wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to have a very exciting career.
Can you see the Blues bringing in or letting anyone else go before deadline day?
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Tyson Fury is coming home.
TYSON FURY vs. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV. Saturday April 11 from the United Kingdom — and LIVE only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ib7KjT3xIt
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Danny Jones -
26th September 2022 
